Pokemon XD
' |publisher=' ' |distributor=' ' |genre=' ' |modes=' ' |platforms= |media=' ' }} Pokémon XD: Remnants of Dusk (Japanese: ポケモンＸＤ：闇の旋風—世界 ) is a turn-based role-playing game and a spin-off of the Pokémon series. Remnants of Dusk is the third game in the "Shadow Pokémon" saga, succeeding 2003's and 2005's . The game is the third Pokémon RPG released for the Nintendo Switch (or fifth, should one count each individual version as its own game) following Pokémon Let's Go and . Set fifteen years after the events of Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Remnants of Dusk is set across multiple regions previously visited in the main series Pokémon titles as the player joins the International Police in investigating the sudden influx of Shadow Pokémon activity. Gameplay Remnants of Dusk follows the same basic gameplay mechanics that other Pokémon role-playing games set forwards, with some alterations made to accommodate for the game's larger scope. Similar to Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD, the game does not feature traditional "routes" on which the player can catch Wild Pokémon; while there are areas where Wild Pokémon can be caught, these are limited as an emphasis is placed on rescuing Shadow Pokémon from other trainers. Plot Unlike Pokémon Colosseum and Gale of Darkness, but like other main series Pokémon titles, the player can choose between controlling a male or female protagonist throughout their journey. While this character can be freely named by the player, the one used by default is "Lyric" and this is how they will be addressed going forward. Prologue Waking up on the morning of their fifteenth birthday ecstatic about finally being able to start their Pokémon Journey through Orre, Lyric is stopped by a Pokémon Researcher named Vi on their way to the Pokémon HQ Laboratory. Asked to deliver a parcel to her brother in the nearby Chert Village. After delivering the parcel, a new experimental type of Poké Ball, to the man he tells Lyric to return back to them after they've been gifted a Pokémon. Hearing these words, Lyric finally travels to the Pokémon HQ Lab to receive a Pokémon. However, Lyric's Pokémon Journey is postponed once again, as they reach the laboratory and find it in disarray. Sneaking around the laboratory, they learn that it has been invaded by a group calling themselves "Cipher+" who are looking for the professor. As Lyric makes their way towards the professor's lab, they stumble upon a lone Poké Ball just as they are caught by the Cipher+ agents ransacking the lab. In a panic, Lyric throws out the Poké Ball and calls upon an Eevee. Lyric battles the Cipher+ agents that capture them and manages to escape with only the Eevee in tow, no sign of the professor or any of the other researchers. Remembering the words of Vi's brother, Lyric returns to Chert Village and tells him about what they just learned. Another man, an acquaintance of Vi's brother, introduces himself as "Looker". Looker explains the reason behind the International Police's presence in Orre: that he has been looking into the return of Cipher. He tells Lyric that there is nothing for them to worry about, that the police will follow-up on the Cipher attack at the Pokémon HQ Lab, and sends Lyric on their way, allowing them to finally begin their Pokémon Journey with the Eevee they saved. Hearing this, Lyric hesitantly heads towards the outskirts of Agate Village, where the first of the eight Orre League gyms is located. Lyric's Pokémon Journey does not last long, as they are kidnapped while on their way to Agate Village. Thrown into the back of a truck, Lyric overhears who their captors are: Cipher+. As the truck nears to a stop and the Cipher+ agents leave, their new Eevee partner helps them escape from the ropes that bind their wrists. Together the two then escape the truck and find themselves near Phenac City. They take this time to flee their captors and head to Phenac City. Once they arrive in Phenac City, Lyric suddenly reunites with Looker again. As Looker asks Lyric about the reason for them being in Phenac, the two are attacked by more Cipher thugs who are quickly beaten back. Knowing Lyric's Eevee must be special in some way, Looker takes them to the International Police's temporary Orre headquarters - an abandoned Cipher laboratory - where they are deputized and asked to work alongside them to quell the Cipher threat. With this, they are given a device known as a Snag Machine, hoping to assist in rescuing the Pokémon who have had their hearts artificially closed shut. Together Looker and Lyric, each with a Snag Machine, head to Pyrite Town, where Cipher activity has been sighted. While Pyrite has seen a boon in activity over the past few years, turning from a grungy crime-ridden town to a growing metropolis, they are immediately greeted by a gang of thugs. As Lyric and Looker fight through the thugs, the two head towards the colosseum in the city. Looker has Lyric enter the tournament while he watches the crowd and everyone around the arena, hoping for a lead. During the finals match, Looker does come up with a lead as an explosion occurs, destroying the arena's flooring and sending Lyric and their opponent down a deep mine shaft. Though Lyric's opponent is nowhere to be seen, Lyric awakes in a deep cake currently under construction. As they try to climb out of the mine they find themselves in, Lyric comes to learn that they are in the remnants of The Under, an underground city that was destroyed by an intentional cave-in. Here, Lyric finds Cipher+'s new headquarters, which is where they are keeping the hostages from the Pokémon HQ Lab - sans the professor they had been looking for initially - tied up. Lyric works to free the hostages as they battle Cipher+ agents, and eventually does manage to complete their goal. One of the people they freed, an older man named Willie, tells Lyric about the path out of The Under that the Cipher+ agents use. Lyric leads the freed hostages out through this passage while also continuing to fight those who try to halt their progress. Returning to the surface, Lyric comes in contact with one of the new admins of Cipher+, a woman named Esma, who stands as the last enemy between them and freedom. Lyric defeats her and the group finally return back to Pyrite, where they meet Looker again. Before the group separates, Willie gives Lyric a disc that Esma dropped. When Lyric and Looker finally get a chance to talk again, the latter notices the disc and suggests they return to HQ to check its contents. As the two return to the laboratory, they meet Vi and her brother, who now introduces himself as Michael, as well as two other International Police agents: Looker's superior, a woman named Anabel, and a formerly-retired officer named Nanu. Together the six open the disc's encrypted contents and find a map of the world with four Pokémon icons plastered across it: Tapu Koko over Johto, Tapu Fini over Sinnoh, Tapu Lele over Kalos, and Tapu Bulu over Galar. Among these, they find a cryptic code that Looker and Michael begin to decipher. With a single clue, Anabel decides to have the group split up and investigate each of the four regions, and makes several calls to various contacts to set up transportation and residences. They all formulate a plan: while Michael continues to work out the code, the other five will fly to each region and try and determine what exactly Cipher+ is plotting. Anabel decides to travel to Sinnoh, Nanu to Kalos, Vi to Galar, and Looker to Johto; initially hesitant to have Lyric assist them in this case, Looker points out that they had already assisted in saving hostages and thus would have Cipher's attention. With this, Lyric is then free to choose who they wish to travel with. At this point, the game becomes non-linear, as the player is free to travel to parts of the four regions in any order. The levels of opponents' Pokémon will change depending on the order the player chooses to visit each region, and many will evolve should need be. The levels of Shadow Pokémon that the player encounters will also change accordingly, though whether they are evolved or not will remain the same regardless of this. Johto Sinnoh Kalos Galar Orre Epilogue Main Characters * Lyric: The main protagonist. A fifteen year old who wanted to begin their Pokémon Journey across Orre. They begin the game with an Eevee that they rescue from the Pokémon HQ Lab. * Looker: A high-ranking official of the International Police, whose past and real name are confidential. He mentions that his old partner had been killed in the past and he hasn't wanted to battle Pokémon since then, only doing so for the sake of stopping Cipher. His partner is a Drizzile, which evolves into an Inteleon over the course of the game. * Anabel: Of the members of the International Police that Lyric meets, Anabel is the one who currently holds the highest rank. She was found in Alola suffering from amnesia, and eventually became a member of a secret sector of the International Police dedicated to investigating and protecting the Ultra Beasts. She commonly uses Alakazam and Snorlax in battle. * Nanu: One of the Kahunas that challengers of the Alola Island Challenge must take on, Nanu is a retired member of the International Police. He was Looker's superior before leaving the organization, with Anabel taking up his spot. He only gets involved in the new Shadow Pokémon incident due to Anabel's insistence. Nanu commonly uses Alolan Persian in battle. * Vi: A genius researcher employed at the Pokémon HQ Laboratory. Vi is a clever inventor who has created several new Poké Ball prototypes with varying results. Using the technology built for the Purify Chamber, she intends on creating Poké Balls that prevent Pokémon captured with them from being turned into Shadow Pokémon; though she kept this research a secret as others believed that Cipher was gone for good. Vi's real name is Jovi and her primary partner is a Snubbull, which eventually evolves into a Granbull. * Michael: The hero who defeated Cipher after the reemerged fifteen years ago. Since then, Michael studied under Professor Krane and became his prodigy, despite putting more effort into maintaining his scooter than researching. Michael has secretly been under the International Police's protection for the past fifteen years, having never forgotten the threat of revenge made against him by Ardos. He has been studying the process behind making Shadow Pokémon and has been trying to track down all of the Pokémon that Cipher had stolen all those years ago. His main partner is an Eevee that often rides on his shoulder, though Michael never uses it in battle. Available Pokémon In addition to the traditional method of battling and catching Wild Pokémon, Remnants of Dusk also brings back the ability to snag Shadow Pokémon from the trainers that possess them. Both types of Pokémon are captured in the same manner (though the latter requires the player to have a Snag Machine in order to do so) and become easier to capture as their health is depleted. Shadow Pokémon Wild Pokémon